2026-06-15 09:16:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：利·基里尼
埃米特·莱昂斯 制作人
埃米特·莱昂斯是哥伦比亚广播公司新闻伦敦分社的新闻台编辑，负责为哥伦比亚广播公司新闻所有平台协调并制作报道。在加入哥伦比亚广播公司新闻之前，埃米特曾在美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）担任制作人四年。
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更新时间：2026年6月15日 / 美国东部时间上午9:24 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
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伦敦——英国成为最新宣布计划禁止16岁以下儿童使用社交媒体应用的国家。
英国首相基尔·斯塔默周一表示，英国将比其他国家走得更远，不仅会禁止儿童使用直播和与陌生人沟通等“有害功能”，还会将限制范围扩大到游戏网站。他表示，这项禁令将保护儿童免受“旨在让人成瘾”的内容的侵害。
拟议中的法律将禁止16岁以下儿童使用Snapchat、TikTok、YouTube、Instagram、Facebook和X等平台，但政府表示，WhatsApp等即时通讯服务仍可使用。
18岁以下人群还将被禁止拥有人工智能“浪漫伴侣”，但这一限制的具体细节以及可能的实施方式仍不明确。
2026年6月15日，英国首相基尔·斯塔默在伦敦唐宁街10号宣布禁止青少年使用社交媒体的计划时出席新闻发布会。杰米·乔伊/彭博社/盖蒂图片社
该立法将要求科技公司确保儿童不会使用其平台，否则可能面临巨额罚款。斯塔默表示，他希望议员们能在12月底前通过这些规定，以便禁令能在2027年春季生效。
澳大利亚于2025年12月禁止16岁以下人群使用社交媒体，成为首个实施此类措施的国家。但澳大利亚互联网监管机构3月份的一项民调显示，约70%的家长表示，他们的孩子仍在使用这些平台，通过各种方式绕过了年龄验证系统。
斯塔默表示，他并未被此类挑战吓倒。
“我们不会说：‘哦，看，某个青少年设法弄到了酒，那我们就干脆别禁止儿童饮酒了。’这简直太荒谬了！”
大型科技公司可能会反对这项举措，美国驻伦敦大使馆10天前发布了一份关于拟议限制措施的公告，称年龄验证系统行不通，并呼吁在保护儿童的同时保护言论自由。
大使馆将父母称为保护儿童的“第一道也是最佳防线”。
2026年6月1日，英国康沃尔郡日落时分，一名14岁男孩和一名15岁男孩正在看智能手机。安娜·巴克利/盖蒂图片社
不过，斯塔默和他的政府指出，民调显示英国绝大多数家长支持禁止16岁以下人群使用社交媒体。
今年3月，美国洛杉矶的一个陪审团裁定，Meta和YouTube应对其产品导致年轻用户出现有害且成瘾行为负责。美国的这一标志性判决可能会为针对社交媒体公司的类似指控树立法律先例。
在英国宣布其计划之前，包括法国、丹麦和马来西亚在内的十多个国家已经在考虑立法限制儿童使用社交媒体平台。爱尔兰也是这些国家之一，但在这个“翡翠岛”上的一个小镇，居民们已经自行采取了更进一步的措施——而且是大幅超前的措施。
社交媒体禁令足以保护儿童吗？
格雷斯通斯镇位于都柏林以南，俯瞰爱尔兰海，是爱尔兰最富裕、风景最优美的城镇之一。这里的海岸风光、独立商铺和紧密的社区氛围使其成为该国最宜居的地方之一。
近年来，格雷斯通斯还因另一件事而闻名：让孩子远离智能手机。
上个月，哥伦比亚广播公司记者在当地一家青年咖啡馆询问了一群11和12岁的孩子是否拥有智能手机，没有一个孩子举手。
“我妈妈可能要到我22岁才会让我用，”名叫西耶娜的女孩打趣道，引得同学们哈哈大笑。
“我妈妈告诉我，科学家做过脑部扫描，”名叫萨姆的男孩接着说，“这和人们刷手机时的大脑状态一样——他们刷手机时的想法和喝酒时一样。”
圣帕特里克国立学校的校长雷切尔·哈珀也是这些孩子所在学校的校长，她表示，三年前新冠疫情结束后孩子们恢复线下上课时，她注意到了一个令人担忧的趋势。
“我注意到学校里学生的焦虑情绪有所增加，”她告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻。
哈珀组织了一项全镇范围的调查，收到了全镇教育工作者的800份回复。结果令人震惊，95%的教师报告称课堂上学生的焦虑情绪有所加剧。
“我们开始分析焦虑情绪增加的原因，”她说，“网络世界无疑对孩子们产生了影响。”
作为回应，哈珀发起了“团结村”社区倡议，核心思想是：还给孩子们童年。
第一步是一项自愿守则，家长们承诺在孩子上中学前不会给他们智能手机。许多家长表示，这项集体承诺起到了至关重要的作用。
“对我来说，这给了我力量和底气说‘不，你不能用这个应用，不然我就锁你的手机’，”亚历克斯·多布斯说，她是四个孩子的母亲，很早就签署了这项守则。
然而，社区里的许多人表示，仅仅移除电子产品是不够的。他们在青年咖啡馆组织了游戏之夜，并为孩子们提供了其他娱乐方式。多布斯甚至让她的孩子们养了宠物小羊。
“格雷斯通斯的做法是对的，”她告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，“作为父母，你不能只告诉他们‘别这么做’，你得给他们其他选择。我不是说你非得在后院养一群羊，但这是个出门活动的好理由。”
如今，“团结村”倡议已经进入第三个年头，圣帕特里克国立学校推出了导师计划，由15和16岁的学生来到初中，教导年幼的孩子在时机成熟时如何负责任地使用手机和网络世界。
在当地的高中，年龄较大的学生在校期间也会将手机锁在专用袋中。效果似乎很显著，教师报告称学生课堂注意力更集中，家长也反映孩子睡眠更好了。
孩子们也表示他们注意到了变化。
“我和朋友们聊天的时间变多了，”高中生安妮告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，“我不再担心手机通知了。”
“我觉得大家应该出去玩，”12岁的亚历克斯说，“别总玩社交媒体，也别一直盯着屏幕。”
U.K. announces plan to ban social media for children under 16
2026-06-15 09:16:00-0400 / CBS News
By Leigh Kiniry,
Emmet Lyons Producer
Emmet Lyons is a news desk editor at the CBS News London bureau, coordinating and producing stories for all CBS News platforms. Prior to joining CBS News, Emmet worked as a producer at CNN for four years.
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Updated on: June 15, 2026 / 9:24 AM EDT / CBS News
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London— The United Kingdom is the latest country to announce plans to ban children under 16 from using social media apps.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that the U.K. would go even further than other nations, by also blocking children from accessing “harmful functions” such as livestreaming and the ability to communicate with strangers, and by extending the restrictions to gaming sites. He said the ban would protect children from content that is “designed to be addictive.”
The proposed law would bar children under 16 from platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but the government said messaging services like WhatsApp would still be accessible.
People under 18 would also be banned from having artificial intelligence “romantic companions,” but the details of that restriction and how it might be implemented remained unclear.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seen during a news conference announcing plans to ban young teenagers from using social media, at 10 Downing Street in London, June 15, 2026. Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg/Getty
The legislation would put the onus on tech companies to ensure children aren’t using their platforms, and they could face huge fines for failing to comply. Starmer said he hoped to have the regulations passed by lawmakers by late December so the ban can come into force by the spring of 2027.
Australia banned under-16s from social media in December 2025 — the first country to impose such a measure. But around 70% of parents polled by Australia’s internet regulator in March said their children remained on the platforms, having found ways to bypass age-gating systems.
Starmer said he wasn’t deterred by such challenges.
“We don’t say: ‘Oh, look, a teenager managed to get a drink somehow, so let’s not bother banning drinks from children.’ That would be utterly ridiculous!”
Big tech companies are likely to fight the effort, and the U.S. Embassy in London published a notice about the proposed restrictions 10 days ago, voicing concern that age-gating would not work and calling for children to be protected in other ways while freedom of speech is preserved.
The embassy called parents “the first and best line of defense” for children.
A 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy look at smartphones as the sun sets on June 1, 2026 in Cornwall, England. Anna Barclay/Getty
Starmer and his government note, however, that polling shows British parents overwhelmingly support a ban for under 16s.
In March, a Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and YouTube were liable for creating products that led to harmful and addictive behavior by young users. The landmark decision in the U.S. could set a legal precedent for similar allegations brought against social media companies.
More than a dozen other countries, including France, Denmark and Malaysia, were already weighing up legislation to restrict children’s access to social media platforms before the U.K. announced its plans. Ireland is among those nations, but in one small town on the Emerald Isle, residents have already gone further on their own — much further.
Does a social media ban go far enough to protect kids?
Overlooking the Irish Sea just south of Dublin, Greystones is one of Ireland’s most affluent and scenic towns. Its coastal views, independent shops and tight-knit community have made it one of the most desirable places to live in the country.
In recent years, Greystones has also become known for something else: Raising children without smartphones.
At a local youth cafe last month, CBS News asked a room of 11- and 12-year-olds if they owned smartphones, and not a single hand went up.
“My mom probably won’t let me till I’m 22,” quipped a girl named Sienna, drawing giggles from her classmates.
“My Mum told me scientists did this brain scan,” chimed in a boy named Sam. “It’s the same brain as people — they’re thinking the same thing if they’re scrolling and drinking alcohol.”
Rachel Harper, a principal at St. Patrick’s National School, where our group of kids are students, said she noticed a worrying trend three years ago after children returned to in-person classes following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I noticed an increase in anxiety levels in my school,” she told CBS News.
Harper organized a community-wide survey, drawing 800 responses from educators across the town. The results were striking, with 95% of teachers reporting heightened anxiety in their classrooms.
“We started looking at what were some of the reasons for the increase in anxiety levels,” she said. “The online world was definitely having an effect on the children.”
In response, Harper started “It Takes a Village,” a community initiative built around one central idea: Give kids their childhood back.
The first concrete step was a voluntary code, with parents pledging not to give their children smartphones until they reached middle school. Many parents said the collective commitment made all the difference.
“For me, it gave me the strength and the power I needed to say, ‘No, you’re not having this app, or I’m going to put that block on your phone,’” said Alex Dobbs, a mother of four who signed on early.
Many in the community said they understood that just removing something wasn’t enough, however. Game nights at the youth cafe were organized, and kids were given alternative methods of entertainment. Dobbs even let her children get pet lambs.
“Greystones has gotten that right,” she told CBS News. “As a parent, you’ve got to understand that you don’t just tell them ‘oh, don’t do this,’ you’ve got to give them something else. I’m not saying you have to have a lamb flock out the back. But it’s a great excuse to get out.”
Now in its third year, the It Takes a Village initiative has introduced a mentor program at St Patrick’s National School, with 15- and 16-year-old students coming into the middle school to teach younger kids how to navigate phones and the online world responsibly, when the time comes.
In the local high school, those older kids also have their phones locked away in pouches during the school day. The results have appeared significant, with teachers reporting students more focused during lessons and parents reporting their children are sleeping better.
The kids say they’ve noticed a difference, too.
“I’m talking to my friends more,” high schooler Anne told CBS News. “I’m not worried about the notifications I have.”
“I feel like you should just be playing outside,” said Alex, 12. “Just not being on social media or having your nose stuck in a screen.”